Nordic Countries in February 2026: the most important developments in politics
In the Nordic countries in February 2026, the dominant political development was Denmark's snap election. On February 26 Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called a parliamentary election for March 24, saying she was seeking a new mandate; the vote came after the month's standoff with US President Donald Trump over Greenland. Earlier in the month a majority in parliament had rejected a motion of no confidence in her. The Greenland question ran through the whole month. Greenland's government said Trump still aimed to gain control of the island and sought concrete results from talks with Washington, and a poll showed Greenlanders rejected becoming part of the United States. France opened a consulate in Nuuk, the first by an EU country, and a bipartisan group of US senators visited to repair what they called shattered trust. Denmark's king visited Greenland on February 18. On February 14 Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States and Europe belong together, and the US and Denmark reached an understanding on Greenland.
The trial of Marius Borg Høiby, son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, opened in Oslo on February 3. He pleaded not guilty to multiple rape charges, and a woman testified in court. Documents released in the Jeffrey Epstein case mention the crown princess hundreds of times, and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the crown princess had shown poor judgement over her ties to Epstein. At month end Høiby remained in custody on drug-related charges.
Norway also dealt with the Epstein revelations. Ambassador Mona Juul was suspended and later stepped down, and police opened an investigation into a diplomat couple. Police investigated former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland over alleged links to Epstein, and on February 12 raided homes; a former prime minister was formally charged with gross corruption. Støre rejected calls for a commission at first, but parliament then decided to appoint an independent commission on the foreign ministry's links to Epstein.
Elsewhere, Iceland's government said it would set a date for a referendum on EU membership talks, and the Faroe Islands announced a referendum on whether to begin such talks.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.